Dennis Yost | |
|---|---|
 Yost in 1968 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | July 20, 1943 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | December 7, 2008 (aged 65) Hamilton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Genres | Soft rock, southern rock, blue-eyed soul |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1955–2005 |
| Labels | Robox Records |
Dennis Yost (July 20, 1943 – December 7, 2008) was an American singer and the frontman of Classics IV. [1] [2]
Dennis Yost was born on July 20, 1943, in Detroit. He and his family moved to Jacksonville when Dennis was 7. There, he began playing drums. While a student at Andrew Jackson High School, he joined a local band called The Echoes, in which he was also a singer. [3]
In 1965, after the Echoes broke up, Yost joined Leroy and the Monarchs, a copy band founded by Walter Eaton. James "J.R." Cobb also came on board on guitar along with Joe Wilson on keyboards. The band would soon change its name to The Classics . Yost took over vocals duties due to the strength and quality of his voice. When singing he would play his drums standing up. [4]
The group was discovered performing at the Purple Porpoise in Daytona Beach by talent manager Alan Diggs, who was affiliated with the Lowery organization in Atlanta. Songwriter Buddy Buie was brought aboard as the group's co-manager and producer. The pair encouraged the band to relocate to Atlanta, where the band landed a deal with Capitol Records with the help of producer Bill Lowery.
The group released its debut single, "Pollyanna", written by Lowery songwriter Joe South. Despite being a regional hit, the group received complaints from a New York-based group with the same name, prompting them to add the "IV" to the name since there were four members at that time. [5]
In 1967, The group landed a deal with Imperial Records. Throughout the next few years, the group released four albums and a slew of Top 40 hits, including "Spooky", "Stormy", and "Traces".
By 1970, as Yost was the remaining original member in the group, it changed its name again to Dennis Yost and the Classics IV. After Imperial was absorbed into United Artists Records, the group signed with MGM South. The band's subsequent releases were less successful, despite their final Top 40 hit "What Am I Crying For", which peaked at No. 39 in 1972. By this time, the partnership between Cochran and Buie ended. [4]
In 1975, Yost disbanded the group and returned to Florida to pursue fishing and the flooring business. A couple of years later, Yost returned to performing under the Holiday Inn circuit, this time solely under his own name or The Classic One---by this time, he had lost the rights to the Classics IV name. [4]
In 1981, Yost released Going Through the Motions on Robox Records. Its single with the same name was a minor hit, peaking at No. 46 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
In 1993, Yost moved to Nashville and ventured into songwriting and producing aside from his performing duties. In the same year, Classics IV was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. [1]
In 2001, Yost underwent successful throat surgery for a condition that had severely impaired his singing voice, bringing him back to touring under the Classics IV name. A few years prior, he had regained the rights to the Classics IV name with the help of former Sha Na Na vocalist Jon "Bowser" Bauman through the group Truth in Music Advertising. [6]
On July 11, 2006, Yost fell down a flight of stairs and suffered serious brain trauma. To assist Yost and his wife with their medical bills, a benefit concert was held on March 25, 2007, at Rhino's Live in Cincinnati. The benefit was hosted by Jon Bauman. Many musical entertainers and some surprise guests from the 1950s through the 1970s performed some of their biggest chart-topping hits in tribute to Yost. Among the artists performing that day were Denny Laine of the Moody Blues and Wings, Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night, Ian Mitchell of Bay City Rollers, Pat Upton of Spiral Starecase, Dave Somerville, the Skyliners, Buzz Cason, Carl Dobkins Jr., Mark Volman of the Turtles, and The Robby Campbell Trio. The concert did not significantly benefit Yost or his wife financially as hoped; expenses far exceeded the money raised, leaving the event in the red. [7] [2]
On December 7, 2008, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the entrance of "Stormy" into the Hot 100's Top 10, Yost died from respiratory failure at the age of 65. [6]
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1980 | Stormy |
| 1981 | Going Through the Motions |
| 1983 | Traces of the Past |
| Year | Title | Chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US AC [8] | |||||
| 1980 | "Lover in My Mind" | - | |||
| 1981 | "Going Through the Motions" | 46 | |||
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"Cherry Hill Park" is a 1969 song written by Robert Nix and Billy Gilmore. It became a hit for the singer Billy Joe Royal. His recording was arranged by Buddy Buie, James Cobb and Emory Gordy, Jr., and produced by both Buie and Bill Lowery.
"Spooky" is originally an instrumental song performed by saxophonist Mike Sharpe (Shapiro), written by Shapiro and Harry Middlebrooks Jr, which first charted in 1967 hitting No. 57 on the US pop charts and No. 55 on the Canadian charts. Its best-known version was created by James Cobb and producer Buddy Buie for the group Classics IV when they added lyrics about a "spooky little girl". The vocalist was Dennis Yost. The song is noted for its eerie whistling sound effect depicting the spooky woman. It has become a Halloween favorite. In 1968, the vocal version reached No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, No. 1 in Canada, and No. 46 in the UK.
James Barney Cobb Jr. was an American guitarist and songwriter, most notable for co-writing "Spooky", "Stormy" and "Traces", among others, as a member of the Classics IV, plus "Champagne Jam" and "Do It Or Die", among others, as a member of the Atlanta Rhythm Section.
Atlanta Rhythm Section is the 1972 first album by the American Southern rock band Atlanta Rhythm Section. It was released on the Decca label, DL-75265. It was produced by Buddy Buie, and is currently the group's only album to feature original lead vocalist Rodney Justo.
Dennis Stanley Joseph Tufano is the original lead singer of the 1960s rock group The Buckinghams, and has been a solo performer since the early 1980s.
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"Stormy" is a hit song by the Classics IV released on their LP Mamas and Papas/Soul Train in 1968. It entered Billboard Magazine October 26, 1968, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #26 Easy Listening. The final line of the chorus has the singer pleading to the girl: "Bring back that sunny day." The single, along with the prior release of "Spooky" and, soon after, the release of "Traces", formed a trio of solid hits for the band.
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